WASHINGTON -- A Democratic super PAC is airing a new ad in the special election race to replace former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) that features Republican Jesse Kelly calling her a "hero of nothing."

"And now she stands there with that smile and pretends to be some type of hometown hero," Kelly says in the clip, which began airing Monday. "She's a hero of nothing."

Kelly made the comment at a campaign event in August 2010, less than half a year before the Tucson shooting rampage that left six dead and 13 wounded, including Giffords.

A call to Kelly's campaign regarding the comments was not immediately returned.

The ad marks the first time in this election cycle that Democrats have sought to highlight Kelly's past comments regarding Giffords, to whom he lost in 2010 by fewer than 2 percentage points.

The clip also highlights Kelly supporting a zero percent corporate tax rate and the abolition of a minimum wage, as well as his characterization of Medicare and Social Security as ponzi schemes.

Kelly is currently locked in a tight race with Democrat Ron Barber to finish Giffords' term. Giffords will make a rare public appearance with Barber, a former aide whom she explicitly asked to run, at an event on Saturday.

The six-figure ad campaign, spearheaded by House Majority PAC, will run through election day.